FPC GREEN TEAM Darlene Berry    Kristi Brandner Barb Gillespie    Sarah Hanson Sue Nelson

Hey – FPC Church family and friends…..The Green Team says, “Come on down to the Marshfield Green Living & Energy Expo, held on Saturday, March 26th from 9 am – 3 pm at the University of Wisconsin, Wood County Campus, on 5th Street. Attendees of all ages will be treated to free educational workshops, over 40 vendor exhibits, children’s activities, refreshments and the chance to win oodles of terrific door prizes and give-aways. We’ll have a pharmaceutical take-back program where you can bring in any expired or no longer needed prescription meds used by you or your pets, for safe disposal. Opportunity Development Center will be hosting an Electronics Recycling Service. You may dispose of all no longer loved electronics and help restock the food pantry, too.

Computers/Laptops
VCR’s/DVD/Printers/Scanners
Fax Machines/Stereos 1 non-perishable food item donation

TV’s (CRT/LCD/LED) under 27” $10 each
TV’s over 27” and consoles $30 each
Full size copiers/printers
Projection TV’s $55 each

Vendors: Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf & Toyota Prius. We’ll have models to sit in and experts to talk to. Friends of the Trails, Mead and Necedah Wildlife Refuge, Kulp’s of Stratford (solar panels), Radon Doctor, UW Stout, UW Extension, Focus on Energy, BioDiversity, Non-Toxic Chic, Beltie Beef and lots more.

Workshops: Native Landscaping/Rain Gardens; Rain Barrel Demonstrations; Square Foot Gardening 101; Green Cleaning Strategies; Whooping Cranes; Composting and more.

Children’s Activities: Watershed Program; Water Cycle Bead Bracelets; Square Foot Garden Make ‘N Take; Jeopardy Nutrition Game; BioFuel Blast; Acquifer Project; Yoga/Zumba; Power of Wind, Story Time and more.

Vendor Door Prizes: T-shirts, DVD/books; baskets of green products, whole grain bread, hand carved walking stick, summer sausages, free community garden square foot plot, low flow toilet, interior/exterior detailing of your vehicle, XBOX Kinnect and more.

Check out the Sustainable Marshfield Committee’s website to see the day’s schedule.
www.sustainablemarshfield.org
See the Church website and entrance doors for posters and other details.
www.fpcmarshfield.org

Mark your calendar and invite your friends. It’s FUN & EASY to be Green!

Have you seen the new recycling center tucked under the coat rack in the narthex? The Green Team replaced the cardboard containers with a sturdier receptacle due to the wonderful increase we’ve seen in recycling at church. You may bring ALL brands of CFL light bulbs (incandescent bulbs will soon be fazed out in the stores), ALL brands of ink and toner cartridges, ALL brands of cell phones and rechargers and ALL brands and sizes of batteries. Please be sure to tape the battery terminals at home or use the masking tape in the drawer.

Veolia Environmental Services is now accepting plastics stamped No. 1 through No. 7 on the bottom. This includes all food and beverage containers, ice cream pails, OTC medicine bottles, yogurt, cottage cheese and deli containers, plastic and paper milk cartons and juice boxes. Brown prescription medication bottles, and plastic wraps are not accepted.

The Growing Together Community Gardens are now accepting registrations for the 2011 growing season. We are pleased to announce that in addition to the 36 raised beds at First Presbyterian Church and the 20 beds at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, we will be installing 20 new raised beds at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church this spring. This third community garden site will allow residents on the southeast side of Marshfield easy access to the square foot garden beds and the support of the committee in learning this easy, weed-reduced method for growing yummy veggies. Some of the beds at St. Alban’s will be reserved for a special 4th grade Lincoln School Educational Project. Watch for more info on this exciting venture in the news.

If you are interested in reserving a bed at any of the three locations, contact Amber Engen to get your name on the list. Engen.amber@marshfieldclinic.org
715-221-8420.

If letting someone else get their hands dirty appeals to you more, check out the church website or the table near the office, where CSA flyers are available. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. You sign up with a local farmer, pay a subscription fee and have fresh/organic food delivered to your door or to a local drop off site weekly. This year, our CSA farmers are including summer and fall shares, eggs, chickens and extensive lists of organic produce.

Save the date! On Oct. 3, join us for the first annual Marshfield Green Living & Energy Expo.
This expo is a great way to learn about things you can do to save money, energy and the
environment. What simple change could you make in your life to shift the following facts to the
positive?
• The "efficiency dividend" could be bigger than the "peace dividend." Poor insulation, inefficient
appliances, drafty doors and other fixable faults cost U.S. consumers more than $300 billion per year -- more than the military budget.
• The television sets of the United States collectively draw the power equivalent of a Chernobyl-sized nuclear plant when they are turned OFF! They use this power for their instant-on capacity, so we don't have to wait a minute or two for our screens to warm up.
• One mature tree on the south side of your house provides as much summer cooling as five midsized air-conditioners.
     Adult workshops will take place throughout the day. Topics include: Make Your Own Rain Barrel
Workshop (material cost $20), Composting Your Waste 101, Your Eco-Friendly Yard, Sustainable
Options for Home Heating, Our Changing Climate, Starting a Green Team at Work and many more.
Workshops will be taught by a variety of local experts from UW-Extension, Mid-State Technical
College, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and more.
     Outdoor opportunities include WAV (Water Action Volunteers) Training. This event will take place in Weber Park where participants will learn six tests for assessing and monitoring the water quality of the Yellow River. (Advance registration is required. To register, or for more information about the training, call Georgette Frazer, 387-6933.)
     There will also be a nature hike at Weber Park where participants will learn to identify native and invasive species that frequent our Marshfield locale. The Marshfield Area Friends of the Trails will be hosting a community bike ride, so bring your bike to the event and explore some of Marshfield's great biking trails.
     The kids will have a great time at Yoga for Kids, Biofuel Blast, the Power of Wind, Energy Inside & Out and Sustainable Storytelling. Each child will need to be accompanied by an adult while attending the expo.
     Looking to recycle those old electronics? 5R Recyclers is a complete recycling company that will be at the expo to take old electronics off your hands. A computer or laptop will be accepted for recycling with the donation of one non-perishable food item to benefit our local food pantries. There may be a cash charge for recycling other items. No refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners or alkaline batteries are accepted. See the event Web site, www.gogreenmarshfield.com for specific details.
     All events throughout the day are on a first-come, first-serve basis. Lunch is included in this free
event. A brat fry will be sponsored by Marshfield Utilities.
     This event is brought to you by the Sustainable Marshfield Committee, Mid-State Technical College, Marshfield Utilities, the Office of Energy Independence, UW-Extension and MSA Professional Services.
     The Sustainable Marshfield Committee was started in 2006 by the Common Council and today
works to forward energy saving and green living initiatives in Marshfield. Learn more at
www.gogreenmarshfield.com.
     See you at the expo!
     Amy Peterson is a Planner with MSA Professional Services, Inc. in Marshfield. She is working with the Sustainable Marshfield Committee to secure grant funding for energy efficient projects and to complete Marshfield's Energy Independence Plan.
     If you go
What: Marshfield Green Living & Energy Expo
When: Oct. 3, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for exhibit and vendor exploration. The majority of activities and
workshops begin at 10 a.m. and end at 2 p.m. WAV Training is from 8 a.m. to noon.
Where: Mid-State Technical College in Marshfield is the host site for this year's event. MSTC is at
2600 W. Fifth St. Overflow parking is at the University of Wisconsin-Marshfield/Wood County
campus.

 

Save Those Batteries – Protect This Planet

      Americans go through over three billion batteries a year, powering up hand-held games and books, toys, watches, flashlights, clocks, computers, etc. Unfortunately, each of those batteries contain many hazardous materials which leak into landfills when batteries are discarded. Many of these dangerous chemicals get into community water supplies.  There are now two ways to avoid throwing away batteries and protecting God’s creation.  One is by using batteries which are rechargeable and can be used over and over again. They cost a bit more than disposable batteries, but if you use a lot of batteries, they pay for themselves quickly.  The other is to recycle your batteries in the kiosk in the narthex.  Veolia Environmental Services is now accepting all batteries for proper recycling.  Green Team members will empty the recycling box regularly and take batteries out to Veolia as a service to you.  Please remember that all batteries left for recycling need to have a small piece of tape placed over the positive terminals, to avoid sparking.  Masking tape is located on the recycling box.

      On November 6th, a team of volunteers cleaned up all 56 raised garden beds, emptied compost bins and tidied up the gardens at both First Presbyterian Church and Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, putting them to bed for the winter.  One bed at FPC even rewarded us with a bucket load of carrots as large as Pringle Potatoe Chip cans and very tasty too.  Interested individuals are already signing up for the 2011 growing season, with several beds reserved.  This year’s gardeners will soon be sent a survey, in order to assess their thoughts and ideas.  The Growing Together Committee meets year-round, planning improved ways to serve our community members interested in learning to grow their own fresh and healthy foods.  Projects currently in the planning stage for 2011 include expanding to a third site at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church and possibly developing a Food Co-op/indoor farmers’ market. Stay tuned for more details in the spring.   

      Growing Together members would like to extend a sincere thank you to all of those at First Presbyterian who welcomed the organic community gardens during our initial 2009 season.  FPC led the way and other Marshfield churches are now following suit, offering portions of their spacious lawns for growing food in place of grass.  Thank you First Presbyterian!

---

• We accept intact compact florescent light bulbs, cell phones, and printer ink cartridges in the kiosk located in the FPC church narthex.  These are recycled on your behalf by members of the green team.
• Please be aware that most PLASTICS numbered 1-7 are now accepted by Veolia Environmental Services in their curbside recycling program.  Plastics which can be recycled include cottage cheese, yogurt, cream cheese type containers.  Not accepted are #1 browns (prescription bottles), styrofoam, polystyrene, plastic wrap and plastic bags.
• Veolia recently implemented a free battery drop-off at the Marshfield transfer station on South Hume.    Accepted batteries: AAA Batteries, AA Batteries, C Size batteries, D Size batteries, 9 Volt Batteries, Lantern Batteries, Mercury Batteries, and Ni-Cad Batteries. The only thing that needs to be done is the terminals needs to be taped to prevent fires.
• An extensive recycling program for electronics is now available through Marshfield’s Opportunity Development Center. See the link below for ODC.  This service not only protects the earth from the toxins used in construction of electronic equipment, but also provides employment opportunities for a special segment of our population – a win win result.  
• The Marshfield Police Department has a secure Pharmaceutical Take-Back program available seven days per week, allowing prescription and over the counter medications to be safely discarded.

 

 

---

Recycle your discarded electronics at Marshfield’s ODC:

         2406 East 21st Street

Items can be dropped at the Main Entrance of ODC’s facilities

No Charge: Computer Towers, Desk Top Copiers, Cables, External Drives, Flat Panels, Keyboards, TV’s and Monitors that are LCD/LED, Laptops, Mice, Modems, Desk Top Printers, Scanners, Splitters

$10.00 each: Televisions or Monitors - CRT/tube type - 27” or smaller 

$30.00 each: Televisions or Monitors - CRT/tube type - Larger than 27”

 

 
Vendors/contractors who are approved as providers of services to Wood County through Focus on Energy:
http://www.finditwithfocus.com/Providers/Home/Wood

---

---